Wienerberger has opened its first concrete tile factory in the south of England: Smeed Dean in Kent.

The 7,800m² production facility, based in Sittingbourne, Kent, has the capacity to produce 94 million roof tiles annually, enough for 32,000 semi-detached homes.

Wienerberger sees this as a significant milestone, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to low-carbon construction, regional investment, and advanced concrete tile production. Manufacturing both Danum TLE large format concrete tiles and plain concrete tiles on two production lines, the factory will complement existing sites in the north and reduce average transport distance to southern markets by over 200 miles. 

The site is Wienerberger’s first fully electrified concrete tile facility, harnessing renewable energy and embedding sustainability into every layer of its operations. This includes smart lighting, heat recovery systems for energy efficiency, a 10,000-litre rainwater harvesting system, and participation in The Pallet LOOP scheme to minimise waste. Situated at Wienerberger’s historic Smeed Dean brickworks, the site’s highly skilled team completed extensive training to support advanced and sustainable concrete tile production.

Keith Barker, Chief Operating Officer at Wienerberger, said: “Launching Smeed Dean is about more than expanding our national manufacturing footprint – it’s about building for what’s next. Increasing our production capacity in the South and investing in decarbonised operations have been key priorities for us, so it is extremely rewarding to see these cutting-edge production lines up and running to deliver products that will support the UK’s evolving housing needs.”

As part of wienerberger’s commitment to social responsibility and its partnership with Emmaus, a portion of proceeds from sales of the Danum TLE tile manufactured at Smeed Dean and Sandtoft production sites support the charity in combatting homelessness and social exclusion.